President Emmanuel Macron during a video call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday. Photo: Christophe Petit Tesson / Pool / AP / NTB
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25. feb. 2023 12:05 – Updated 25 Feb. 2023 12:11
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit China in early April.
As the travel plans were announced on Saturday, Macron called on China to “help us pressure Russia” to end the war in Ukraine.
Peace in Ukraine is only possible if Russia withdraws its troops and respects Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty, according to the French president.
Biden does not have faith in China
US President Joe Biden does not believe that China is capable of negotiating the outcome of the Ukraine war.
– Russian President Vladimir Putin is rooting for it, so how can it be good? says Biden, referring to China’s twelve-point plan for peace in Ukraine, in an interview with ABC News.
He himself has not seen anything in the plan that can show signs that there are any kind of advantages for anyone other than Russia, if the Chinese plan is to be followed.
– The idea that China can negotiate the outcome of the war, a war that is completely unfair to Ukraine, is just not rational, he says.
Belarus is going to visit
On Saturday, it was also announced that Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko will visit China next week, after receiving an invitation from President Xi Jinping.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that China will support Belarus’ efforts against external forces that interfere in the country’s internal affairs or impose illegal sanctions on the country.
For several months, Ukraine has been concerned that Belarus may join the war on the Russian side. This potential threat has led Kyiv to send troops to protect northern Ukraine, at the same time Ukraine is fighting Russian forces in the east and south.
